Easily the best French-built fighter in the ArmΘe de l'air, the Dewoitine 520 was first flying in October 1938. Though it post-dated the Bf 109, Spitfire, and Hurricane, it was nearly but not quite equal to any of them in combat performance. Nonetheless, the D.520 was a maneuverable aircraft and its skilled pilots claimed a 2-1 kill ratio in the fight against Germany in May-June 1940. Unfortunately for the French, very few D.520s were in service when the Germans invaded, thanks to poor government planning, excessive bureaucratic controls, and an antiquated production system that relied on skilled craftsmen rather than mass production.
